Meeting Max

My literary Saturday wouldn't have been complete without at least meeting Max Lane over at Silverfish, even if I missed his talk because we were still clearing up at Seksan's, just down the road.

But he was still signing copies of the freshly launched Arok of Java and I drew up a chair and had a really nice chat to him.

Max translated the works of the great Pramoedya Ananta Toer. I've read This Earth of Mankind and A Child of All Nations (the first two parts of The Buru Quartet) and can vouch the for the translations being a pleasure to read.

Deepika interviewed Max in Singapore a few days ago and fills in some of the big gaps I've left here. Go read.

Literary Saturday in Bangsar

Here, for you to admire, is the cover of the US edition of The Gift of Rain to be published by Weinstein Books and due for release on 6th May.

The book has been released in Australia and got an excellent review by Lorien Kaye in the Age ("a masterful achievement ...").*

You can meet Tan Twan Eng this Saturday at MPH's Breakfast Club (11a.m. Bangsar Village 2) and get your copy of the book signed. Eric tells me that there is even a lucky dip so that one lucky reader can get a free signed copy! If that's not enough, you can have all the curry puffs you can eat!

You can have a really literary day in Bangsar on Sat. After breakfast club and a long gourmet lunch in one or another of the delectable eateries in the area, amble over the road to "Readings", and after that to Silverfish to listen to Max Lane who was the translator for Pramoedya's books. Lane will be launching his translation of Pramoedya's Arok of Java.

Nothing literary happens in KL?

(*Sadly the review is not online but I can forward the PDF to anyone who wants to read it.)